The 40/40 club is a baseball term for an elite group of players who
have accumulated a total of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a
single season.

Becoming a member of the 40/40 club is an elusive achievement in
modern American baseball, as players who possess the power to hit 40
home runs and the speed to steal 40 bases in a season are rare.
Generally a player gifted with the strength to hit 40 will not have
nearly the speed needed to steal 40 bases, and vice versa. This
remains true even as statistical trends change in baseball.

Last year, The 40/40 Club event was born as a celebration of the 40th
birthday of hip hop’s most foremost ambassador figure, Jay-Z, for his
40th birthday on December 4th.

He, at the time, was on the eve of becoming the first ever RELEVANT
and DOMINANT 40 year old hip hop figure in a youth driven and
dominated culture. It was a critical achievement for hip hop, and
something that I felt needed to be celebrated.

For this, the second edition of the 40/40 club, we take the concept
closer to its baseball roots and examine an elite group of MC’s, whom,
like their baseball counterparts capable of hitting with power, and
stealing bases, are capable of incredible punchlines, great
storytelling, incredible flow, wit, charm, and bravado.

We begin with an age old barbershop argument from the early 2000’s
referenced by Jay’z. Like him,

“Where I’m From, #*$*as will pull your card, and argue all day about
WHO’S THE BEST MC, BIGGIE, JAY-Z OR NAS”